JERUSALEM - Israel reopened its airspace as at 7.30am (12.30pm Singapore time) on April 14, the country’s airports authority said, after an overnight attack by hundreds of Iranian missiles and drones resulted in the closure of its airspace.

Jordan and Iraq also reopened their airspace after closing it late on April 13 after Iran launched drone and missile attacks against Israel.

Jordan’s state TV said the country had resumed air traffic operations, citing aviation authorities. The opening of its airspace came more than three hours earlier than scheduled.

Iraq’s aviation authority said security risks had been overcome.

But several Iranian airports, including Tehran’s Imam Khomeini International, cancelled flights until April 15, Iranian state media reported.

Domestic flights from Tehran’s Mehrabad International Airport and airports in Shiraz, Isfahan, Bushehr, Kerman, Ilam, and Sanandaj have also been cancelled, according to Iran’s Airports and Air Navigation Company, as the country’s western airspace remained off limits to flights.

Israeli airlines said operations were returning to normal.

Flag carrier El Al said it had resumed operations and was “working to stabilise the flight schedule as soon as possible”. “El Al will continue to operate as much as possible to preserve the air bridge to and from Israel,” it said.

The airline had cancelled 15 flights to Europe, Dubai and Moscow scheduled for April 14, while flights that had taken off from Bangkok and Phuket were forced to return.

Smaller Israeli carrier Arkia said it was in the process of making adjustments to its flight schedule after initially postponing flights to Athens, Milan and Geneva.

According to the airport authority, most flights of foreign carriers have been delayed, including April 14 flights to London by Wizz Air, to New Delhi by Air India, to Madrid by Iberia and to Marseille by Air France.

El Al’s flights to London, Frankfurt, Berlin, Bucharest, Athens, Paris and Rome and Ethiopian Airline’s flight to Addis Ababa were able to take off.

Flights into Israel were also disrupted.

Abu Dhabi-based Etihad Airways cancelled flights to Jordan and Israel on April 14, the airline said in a statement.

Swiss International Air Lines has suspended flights to and from Tel Aviv until further notice, the airline said in a post on social media platform X on April 14.

Swiss, which is owned by German carrier Lufthansa, said all of its planes were avoiding the airspace of Iran, Iraq and Israel, causing delays to flights from India and Singapore.

United Airlines cancelled an April 13 planned flight from Newark to Tel Aviv due to restrictions on Israeli airspace, the airline said in a statement.

United is the only major American airline to have resumed flights to Israel since the attacks by Hamas on Israel in October 2023.

Iran launched a swarm of explosive drones and fired missiles at Israel late on April 13 in its first direct attack on Israeli territory.

Israel’s military spokesman, Rear-Admiral Daniel Hagari, said Iran also launched dozens of ground-to-ground missiles at Israel, most of which were intercepted outside Israeli borders. They included more than 10 cruise missiles, he added.

The Iranian salvo amounted to more than 200 drones and missiles so far, he noted, and had caused light damage to one Israeli military facility.

Jordan, which lies between Iran and Israel, had readied air defences to intercept any drone or missile that violated its territory, two regional security sources said.

US and British warplanes were involved in shooting down some Israel-bound drones over the Iraq-Syria border area, Israel’s Channel 12 reported.

Iran had vowed retaliation for what it called an Israeli strike on its Damascus consulate on April 1 that killed seven Revolutionary Guards officers, including two senior commanders. Israel has neither confirmed nor denied responsibility for the attack. REUTERS